


Open Your Eyes

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: A Thousand Futures of Me and You [156]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Boys In Love, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Moving In Together, Protective Tony Stark, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 10:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19171372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: The Sanctum was huge. That was the first observation Tony made when he explored its hallowed halls for the first time, seven months after Titan and three weeks after beginning a tentative relationship with Stephen. The second observation, running on the heels of the first, was that it was achingly empty.





	Open Your Eyes

   The Sanctum was huge. That was the first observation Tony made when he explored its hallowed halls for the first time, seven months after Titan and three weeks after beginning a tentative relationship with Stephen. The second observation, running on the heels of the first, was that it was achingly empty.

   Wandering the building and carefully avoiding relics strewn about, he found himself opening doors that went nowhere, doors that went everywhere, doors that brought you to more doors, and doors that dropped you right back at the entrance. It was to satisfy his almost desperate curiosity that he did it, usually while Stephen was meeting with Masters or late returning from a mission.

   It was fun, it was fascinating, it was concerning. For every interesting door he opened there were at least several dozen more that creaked wide on rusted hinges revealing desolate bedrooms blanketed in dust and sequestered in the dark, thanks to the thick, heavy drapes over the windows.

   At first Tony found himself fishing for information from Wong, wanting to know why these multitude of rooms sat empty of patrons, even as he knew the ranks of sorcerers were increasing at Kamar-Taj. Explanations were usually given in a huff of exasperation and an eyeroll. They were still too few, the Sanctum was guarded, they were not needed.

   Stephen found him amusing. Would shake his head and tug him away from those ghostly rooms and toward his own, lived in and messy, filled to bursting with signs of life. It took Tony nearly two months to figure out why it bothered him, why he found himself spending every spare minute in that old, weathered museum.

   Tony might still be doubtful about chakras and energy and all the things Stephen and Wong babbled endlessly about, but even he had to admit that the entire building felt like loneliness. Not abandonment, no, more like the entire place had become an after thought, its residence hidden and easily forgotten within its walls.

   He stared wandering how Stephen dealt with it. Tony himself hated being lonely, always had, filling his days and nights with boisterous company, parties, and any friend he could convince. The only solitude he enjoyed was his work, the shop, the distraction of his mind whirring and his hands moving quickly in an attempt to keep up.

   There was an inexplicable urge to fill that empty space with himself, to be there for Stephen whenever he could. To remind his lover, even when he was just sitting in the library with an ancient book and cup of tea, he wasn’t alone, not really.

   Tony wasn’t stupid of course. Stephen did have visitors. Wong seemed to visit daily, usually for short stints before resuming his duties at Kamar-Taj, occasionally bringing an apprentice with him. Peter had taken to heading there a few times a week after school, making himself comfortable on the kitchen counter. Stephen had weekly meetings. He had less cordial visitors as well, who spat acid and recited spells.

   Yet, for all that, Tony couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t enough.

   These thoughts had plagued him for weeks. He and Stephen were on the sofa one evening, pressed close, eyes on the television Tony had mounted on the wall, a movie playing quietly when he found himself unable to keep from asking.

   “How do you stand it?”

   Stephen, who had been leaning against him, exhausted from a day of practicing some new incantation, turned toward him with a raised eyebrow. “stand what?”

   “The Sanctum? Like this?” he waved a hand demonstrably.

   Stephen’s eyes flickered around the room, shrouded in late night shadows, “like this?”

   “Empty. Lonely.”

   Stephen hummed, considering. It was something Tony liked about him, the hesitance to speak right away, always thinking through the words he wants to say. A complete opposite to Tony, but appreciated nonetheless.

   “It never really occurred to me.”

   Tony didn’t like the way his usually bright eyes seemed to dim as he said the words, the way they settled over his shoulder instead of looking directly at him. He hated that look and found himself reaching across to gently grip one of those trembling hands, thumb rubbing a soothing circle on the palm, waiting.

   The smallest flash of a smile, eyes glancing toward their hands and Tony felt the world right itself again. Stephen took a deep breath before meeting his gaze again, a little sad and a lot determined.

   “I’ve never been a stranger to loneliness Tony. I think I’ve even grown to enjoy it a bit,” and oh, Tony knew that look, that darkness hiding in the bright blue of his eyes.

   “I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”

   “Its alright. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

   “It was someone’s. It was theirs.” Tony protested. He was thinking of the photos Stephen had shown him of his family once. Specifically, the one that was bright and glittering with Stephen standing next to his sister, arm slung over her small shoulders. A brilliant picture that only made the subsequent ones more painful, forced smiles and despondent eyes, distant expressions and a missing hole. “You’re allowed to be angry about it.”

   Stephen sighed. Twisting his palm up and got a better grip on Tony’s hand, squeezing gently. One of their many differences, Stephen’s easy forgiveness of things and Tony’s ever festering heart. At least he was learning, with Stephen’s help.

   “You know, its really not so lonely.”

   “Thanks to my dazzling presence?” Tony tried to joke.

   Stephen shook his head, but his lips twitched, “because it doesn’t feel empty. In fact, sometimes it feels so full it gives me a headache.”

   Tony blinked at him, taking in the way his eyes glittered with knowledge, smug as he always was when he was a step ahead of Tony, saw something he couldn’t. It happened far too often these days, yet it never failed to draw him in and clamour to know.

   “I’ll bite, what are you talking about?”

   Stephen’s other hand came to grip his wrist, trembling fingers surprisingly strong He raised an eyebrow knowingly, “It would be easier to show you.”

   It was instinctual. The survivalist in him that made Tony’s stomach twist uneasily with the prospect of Stephen using his magic on him. It was always like this with him and he was never more grateful for Stephen’s patience, the way he would sit there calmly, waiting for his answer and expecting nothing. It was one of things that was making it easier and easier to say yes as time goes on.

   “Alright.”

   The joy that lit up his expression for a moment was worth the anxiety any day. Stephen’s grip became firmer, his voice soft and coaxing as he gave instructions, “deep breaths. It won’t hurt but it will be overwhelming for a moment, too much happening at once. Try not to think and feel instead.”

   Tony gave a brief nod. Tried to calm his mind like Stephen had been teaching him with meditation.

   It didn’t hurt, of course it didn’t, Stephen had promised.

   It did take his breath away, however, in one fell swoop as the air around him suddenly came alive. Tony had squeezed his eyes shut on a gasp, hand clenching in Stephen’s as all his skin became oversensitive with the sheer energy prickling along it.

   It was coming from every direction, spearing through him, and in his mind, he saw golden lights, glittering little pathways, connecting relics and rooms and space. It suddenly felt so _full_ , like everything was speaking its own language, not with words and syllables but with an energy all their own, mingling and expanding.

   Tony could feel tear tracks on his cheeks, not from pain or even the uncomfortable feeling of his skin and his own body. No, it was all of it, the way each piece of this Sanctum suddenly felt real and human in a way a building should never be. Tony swore he could feel it reacting and shifting in some intangible way around those it housed. It felt safe and sure and loving.

   He forced himself to open his eyes, needing to see more, only to lean back with a jerk as he took in Stephen, the brightest of them all, glowing in front of him. All the little rivers of energy seemed to be flowing toward him and away, swirling and feeding off or giving to him and that alone made Tony’s heart fill with unexpected joy.

   The Sanctum wasn’t empty. In fact, it was much too full. Too _alive_.

   With each passing second his awareness of a new relic moved through him, its energy signatures sometimes euphoric, sometimes simple and happy, other times malicious, the occasional angry sparks. All the while, the walls around them, tempered their energies and Tony could feel it

   The hand he’d been gripping slipped from his and with a startled gasp everything snapped back into its place, horribly dull and unexciting. Stephen was watching him with weary eyes and a half-smirk of understanding.

   “Holy shit,” Tony said eloquently.

   Stephen huffed a laugh, shaking his head, “too much?”

   Tony reached over and grabbed Stephen’s hand again, holding it up as he examined while trying to blink away the shining lights in his now too dark mind, “not at all, but did I hurt your hand?”

   Stephen twisted those long fingers to grip his wrist and tug him close, huddling into his warmth, “its fine. But you see? Not lonely at all.”

   Tony found himself with his arm around Stephen’s shoulders, fingers running through his hair in a soothing run, now filled with a completely different concern, “do you see that all the time?”

   “No,” Stephen assured. “I can feel how the Sanctum reacts to things, visitors, relics, dangerous dimensional creatures. Sometimes I see all of it when I want or need to. Usually everything is…normal with maybe a bit more awareness.”

   “Uh, does that mean you would object to me being a little more present?”

   Stephen leaned away, eyes taking him in with a scrutinizing gaze that Tony only smiled at. It took several long second before Stephen’s lips spread wide and leaned into press a kiss to his lips, soft and demanding.

   Tony figured he’d take that as a yes to him moving in.


End file.
